Take My Breath Away Read online

  I walked into the living room to see Violet dressed in black leather leggings and a button up white shirt. She looked great, and I walked forward to grab the ends of her purple hair. She giggled and looked at me impishly, making her eyes crinkle.

  “You look great,” I told her as she smiled her thanks. Her lips were a deep purple, and she had her eyes done with some shimmer. “I look like I’m going hiking.”

  “I can take you to my girl for highlights any time you want. A nice red underneath the dark would be gorgeous.” Violet gushed as I stared at her. “Too much?”

  “I’ll let you do the vibrant thing, okay? I am good with my casual style, Vi. My mother would have a heart attack if I came home with bright hair like that.” I laughed at the image of her expression seeing me like that. I looked a lot like my mom apart from having my dad’s larger frame and nose. They were both conservative and loved the fact that I was as well. They had never said anything bad about Vi, but I knew they thought that she was over the top.

  “She would. I remember the deer in the headlights look that she gave me when we met over dinner that first year.” I laughed at the memory and glanced around.

  “Are we ready for a fun party?” I asked her as she raised an eyebrow at me. “Yay… fun?”

  “It will be. I got us an Uber to get there so we’re not walking in the dark. I’ll get one to bring us home as well. You can enjoy some drinks and let the stress of this week fade away.” Violet placed her hand over her heart dramatically as I burst out laughing.

  “You’re insane, Vi.” She grabbed our key, and I slipped it into my pocket securely after locking the door. We walked downstairs, and I saw a blue compact car sitting at the curb. Violet checked her phone and nodded.

  “That’s it.” She opened the back door, and we slipped inside. Violet gave her the address, and the girl looked back at us.

  “Great idea. You’re getting a car home as well?” The raven-haired goth girl asked as we both nodded. She let us buckle in and pulled away to merge with the traffic leaving the parking lot, headed towards the row of places that housed fraternity and sorority groups. I sat back nervously and gazed outside. I told myself that this would be fun. I could drink just a little, being careful in the process. I didn’t want to end up a statistic.

  The car stopped on the street in front of a packed house and I looked up with wide eyes. Violet urged me out, and I opened the door and stepped to the curb. Loud rock music was blasting through the windows and laughter floated out over it. Violet thanked the girl and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the house. I’d been here a couple of times before for parties and it was always crazy. This was no different.

  The living room furniture was pushed against the wall, so people could dance to the radio. I could see people sitting on the couches and chairs before I glanced into the kitchen to see the alcohol there. My stomach growled, and I regretted not eating, but there were snacks here. That would tide me over and I could get something from a machine later. I followed Violet to the makeshift bar, and she looked over the various open bottles before looking at me. She was braver than I was. Violet opened the fridge and selected two bottles that were sealed, handing me one. I smiled gratefully before looking slowly around to see if anyone noticed.

  She walked to the living room and looked over the crowd as she opened her bottle. I did the same, leaning against the wall with her as I sipped the sweet liquid. The party was packed and so many voices and laughter filled the room as I tugged at my shirt. I knew the drill. Violet would make me dance out there since it was her favorite thing to do. She was good about staying with me and cool with the fact that I didn’t drink too much. It worked.

  One of her favorite songs came on and Vi smiled at me. She walked into the crowd and I followed, holding tightly to my bottle. She started moving to the beat, and I took a slow breath and focused on the hard beat of the song. When I did let go, it was nice. I used to be so carefree as a kid but when I got into the upper grades and college, I became cautious. Sleeping with Sterling casually was the only wild thing that I did, and I wondered about that choice some days. I certainly wasn’t looking to jump into bed with anyone else.

  Violet cheered me on and I laughed as I started shaking my hips to the faster song. Okay, this was fun. I should get out more and enjoy college before graduation. I knew that once I started working, time would be limited. Since I was going into writing that could lead to some weird hours and long nights. It depended on what I ended up doing.

  I was on my third song and just starting to feel thirsty when I felt someone close to me, tapping me on the shoulder. I turned to see Ed, a guy that was in my psychology class with me. I smiled at him. He was a nice guy and certainly handsome, but I’d never noticed him looking at me this way before.

  “Hi, Ed. How are you?” I asked as he sipped the red cup that he was holding before tossing it into a big trash can a few feet away. That reminded me that he played basketball and I complimented his skill with a warm smile.

  “Thanks, Rosalind. I’m great. It’s good to see you here.” He nodded at someone before focusing his whiskey colored eyes on me.

  “My best friend dragged me here.” I winked at Violet and she looked Ed over as she waved at him. He moved closer to me and started to move with me, not too close but suggestively. I pressed my lips together and began dancing again, looking behind Ed. I noticed Sterling on the steps with a blonde girl who was laughing at something he said and leaning close to his face. His eyes were hard on her and I felt something deep in my chest.

  I should stop this situation with him and just move on.

  I focused on Ed, who was moving closer to me as another song started. I decided that I should give him a chance and try something new. I smiled and moved a little closer, matching my movements with his. I could do this. He was obviously into me, at least in this moment.

  We danced until I couldn’t stand it any longer and told him I needed something to drink. I passed up alcohol and reached for a bottle of water that was in a cooler, watching as he got another beer from the keg.

  “Do you stay here?” I asked as he sipped it with his gaze on my face.

  “No. I have an apartment with a friend a couple blocks away. I’m not the frat guy type but I like their parties.” I nodded, taking a long drink from my water bottle. We made small talk as we found a couch in the corner of the room, and he made me laugh. I didn’t pull away when he leaned in to kiss me, closing my eyes and letting it happen.

  4

  Sterling

  I glanced around the house when I noticed that Rosie wasn’t dancing with Violet anymore. I watched as her best friend shimmied up to a guy that was in my math class and frowned as I searched the rooms for Rosalind. I wasn’t even used to seeing her at these parties in the first place. It distracted me from my friends and I could tell that Lisa was irritated with me. She was working me hard for a hook up tonight and I found myself wanting Rosie instead. I knew that I should stop this thing between us, given the length of our friendship. Sex was a sure way to destroy all of that, but I couldn’t help but want her.

  I saw her in the corner on a small couch, talking with a guy that I’d seen around campus. He was smiling at her as she laughed, and I narrowed my eyes as I watched them. Rosie didn’t flirt with other guys. I knew that she had a thing for me even if I still dated other girls. I felt like shit about that sometimes, but I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I also wasn’t ready to give her up.

  “Sterling?” I heard a voice and glanced back at Lisa, who was in front of me. She looked annoyed as I blinked, giving me a seductive smile. “Want to come over to my place?” Lisa also had a single dorm, and I was familiar with every inch of it. I’d slept with her a handful of times.

  “Probably not tonight. I have an early morning,” I replied as disappointment crossed her face. She looked around the room and I stared at her. “What are you doing?”

  “Is there someone else here that you’d rather sleep with tonight?” L
isa asked, sounding like a petulant child. When the fuck did she get so possessive? “You’re so distracted.”

  “Jesus, Lisa. When did you get like this?” I asked as I noticed Rosie kissing the guy she was sitting with. Lisa looked to follow my angry gaze and raised an eyebrow at me. “Isn’t she your friend from when you were kids?”

  “I’m just watching out for her.” I growled as Lisa threw up her hands and walked away. I glanced at her before looking at Rosie again, who was leaning into the kiss now. She seemed to enjoy it and I felt my cock harden in my pants possessively. I wanted her.

  I figured that Lisa would be pissy for a few days at least. I glared at the guy who was pulling Rosie closer to him and turned my head to search the room for someone else. I needed to fill this void, and I saw Grace walk in with a group of her friends. She was a brunette that I’d fooled around with a few times and I took a deep breath as I squared my shoulders. I walked down the stairs and headed to the door as she looked up and smiled at me.

  “Hey, Grace.” I gave her the crooked smile that all the girls liked. I nodded at her friends with the same expression. “Ladies. How are you tonight?” They murmured something in return as I focused on Grace again. “What are you drinking tonight?”

  I got us each a beer from the keg and we stood in the kitchen. Grace was shy at first, but I could see her warming up to me as we kept talking. I glanced back over to see if Rosie was still here and saw that the couch was empty. Damn it. Where did they go? I looked at the dance floor to see Violet’s arms wrapped around the guys neck from earlier.

  Fuck.

  I looked back at Grace and took in her pretty brown eyes. She looked confused as she stared up at me and I forced a smile back on my face. I started the conversation again and stuck to it even as curiosity ate away at me. After a few beers, we went outside and found a quiet spot on the balcony where I kissed her. Grace slipped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer, responding hotly to me as her tongue slipped against mine.

  Eventually, I convinced her to leave and go to her apartment. Her roommate was gone for the weekend and we’d have the place to ourselves. It wasn’t that I didn’t bring girls to my dorm. I just preferred not to. We walked out of the front door and turned to walk towards her complex. I hadn’t seen Rosie since the last time on the couch and I reached out for Grace’s hand as we walked. We were there in fifteen minutes and I unlocked her door easily before kissing her hungrily. She moaned and wrapped her arms around me as I turned the knob and pulled us inside.

  Kicking the door closed, I pressed Grace against it and kissed her again. She was eager with me and I swept her mouth with my tongue, tasting the beer from earlier. We moved to the couch where I dropped down to pull her over my lap. She’d worn a tight pair of leggings and a light sweater tonight and I could feel her heat against my jeans.

  I imagined Rosie with the guy and gripped Grace’s ass tightly as I thrust my hips up. She cried out, and I tried to make sense of it to determine if she liked this. Her mouth claimed mine hungrily, and I knew that she did. I kissed her harder and turned Grace around, pressing her down to the arm rest as she clawed at my back. She tugged at my Henley and I ripped it over my head, watching her eyes rake over me. I worked out a lot and knew that it showed.

  I asked her if she’d show me hers now, whispering huskily into her ear. Grace nodded and arched her back, so I could strip the sweater from her body, leaving her in a thin lace bra. Grace wasn’t a curvy girl, and it worked for her. I reached around her back and kissed her again as I unclasped the back of it, moving it so my hand covered her breast. She moaned into my mouth as our tongues danced together and I squeezed lightly. I stripped her bare in between kisses and she did the same to me before I carried her to her bedroom. I felt guilty when I thought of Rosie as I entered Grace. She was wet, willing, and showed a wilder side of her with me as we moved together. I did everything I could to make her feel amazing and fucked her hard once I’d teased her with my tongue and fingers.

  Grace was good in bed. She was responsive and moved with me, rocked against me. She would make for a great regular fuck or even a girlfriend if that were my thing. I kissed her when we were finished, being gentle as she pressed against me.

  I walked home later that night alone with my hands shoved in my pockets. I could have stayed the night or even the weekend with Grace, but I wanted to be alone. I saw the hurt look in her eyes when I dressed to leave, and the doubt about me.

  I never made any promises to Grace. I never did that with women, but I didn’t tell her this would be just the night either. We moved too fast for that. I unlocked the door to my dorm and walked inside as I stretched. I had the feeling of satisfaction from good sex but felt emptier inside. I knew that I was going to need more emotionally at some point.

  I changed into shorts and dropped into my bed, needing to sleep. I needed to clear my fucking head. I turned my head to see a framed photo of me with Rosie in our favorite tree when we were kids. One of my cousins took it. I’d had it for years by my bed where I slept, and I knew that Rosie had seen it. We had sex here the most since it was a single room and she shared with Violet. We never spoke about why I had it. We were too much into each other and fucked like animals when we in bed.

  It was so fucking confusing, and I turned to my side, closing my eyes to sleep.

  5

  Rosalind

  I woke up with the sun shining through the window and blinked. I was in my bed and I looked over to see that Violet was sleeping on her comforter, still dressed. I thought back to the night before and remembered her leaving with Brian from one of her classes. Which one? I pressed a hand to my throbbing head and breathed in.

  I kissed Ed last night. A lot. We were making out like teenagers on the couch before he took me outside for some fresh air. I knew that he wanted more, and a part of my body wanted to just feel someone inside of me. My heart wanted to be away from Sterling, but I knew that I wasn’t the type to replace him between my sheets. When Ed asked me to go home with him, I told him no. I told him that I couldn’t. He was nice about it and danced with me a bit more after that before making his way to another part of the house.

  I hadn’t seen Sterling since he was on the stairs. I saw the girl that he was with mingling with other people, but he was nowhere in sight. I listened to some of the conversations and picked up that he’d left with a girl named Grace. I was jealous and felt ridiculous about that, but I didn’t allow myself to leave with Ed. I wasn’t the kind of girl to leave a party with a guy other than Sterling, which was how we hooked up in the first place. We hadn’t been at a party, but we were out drinking when Violet was out of town one weekend. The first kiss was a few weeks ago and there was too much attraction for me to deny him anything else.

  We went back to my dorm that time. Sterling took his time with me, kissing me senseless before we stripped our clothes off. He kissed my face and neck before moving down to the hard tips of my breasts that were begging for his touch. He’d already teased them through my shirt and bra and I was dying inside. His mouth felt so good wrapped around me, sucking firmly as his tongue danced over my skin. I arched my body to offer him more, feeling him slide his hand between my legs, finding me slick and ready for him.

  I wasn’t a virgin. There was a boyfriend of a year in high school that I gave my virginity to and then another casual fling after that. Looking back, Sterling hadn’t liked either of those guys, but we drifted apart in high school a bit. Our families were already battling over their similar businesses and neither of us visited the other’s house, anyway. It wasn’t until we were away from the neighborhood and in college that we started hanging out again. By then, we’d both grown up a lot and noticed within the first few times together. The first kiss was electric and made me want him that very moment.

  I didn’t come to college to sleep with my childhood friend but once I knew how skilled he was in bed, I knew that I’d never be able to deny him. Sterling was thorough in giving pleasure, at le
ast with me. He also had a reputation with women on campus, so I assumed he treated us all the same way.

  My mom talked about how she met my dad in her last year of college and how happy she was. She wanted me to meet my forever guy here as well, but I knew that neither of them would approve of my choice. They didn’t want me with the competition to their wealth. I didn’t care about money. I appreciated that I could attend college without putting them out in any way and loved them for giving me a home for so many years. I just wanted to live my own life now and if Sterling wanted to be with me, I’d want that as well. I just didn’t think that he did because he was clearly still seeing other girls. I’d never ask him not to, and he used a condom with me every time we slept together. That was all I could ask.

  Something stirred to my left, and I glanced over to see Violet turning to her side. She still had her makeup on and I smiled lovingly at her as I watched her curl up. She was so different from I was when we came to college and lived life to the fullest. I worried about her at times, but Violet seemed to be careful for the most part. She opened one eye and sighed heavily.

  “It’s too early,” she mumbled as I laughed warmly.

  “It’s twelve, Vi. When did you get in?” I asked as she yawned.

  “I took a car home at four. He lives with too many guys to get any real rest there.” I knew that Violet didn’t make a habit of spending the night at other places to keep things casual. I always woke up with her in her bed no matter what happened the night before.

  “How was it?” I pressed as she stretched.

  “Brian is a good guy. I might consider a relationship with a guy like him someday.” I raised an eyebrow, and she shrugged. “Maybe.”

  I dressed on some clothes to get some coffee after getting Violet some Vitamin Water from our small fridge. I headed down to the stand and bought our favorites, smiling at the girl. We knew her well. I glanced across the campus and saw Grace walking with some friends. She was talking closely with them and the way they were giggling, I assumed she was talking about her night with Sterling.